Lost In Darkness
by Post-Apocalyptic Cigarette
Summary: Draco Malfoy is collapsing under the pressure of the Dark Lord's will. Will he be rescued from the recurring cycle of tragedy or will he be lost in the darkness?


**Disclaimer: **refer to my profile.

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> I don't believe that this piece will do me any justice in earning a following, but in honor of Draco Malfoy's birthday, I have decided to write a rather tragic but lovely one-shot. In my opinion, it is horrible, but it was something that I put together in roughly two hours. I hope it's not _too _dreadful. Please read and review.

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><p>"She hears a moan at the top of the stairs<br>But she don't move or fret just minds her business  
>'I swear these walls have been talking to me' she says<br>'Cause all I hear are the Devil's wishes'  
>She feels his breath down her skin and bones."<p>

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><p>Seeing Katie Bell in the Great Hall felt like the final nail in his coffin. It was not his intention to cause the Muggle-sympathizer any harm, but to fail in even sufficiently killing <em>her <em>with the cursed necklace drove his situation home: he was never going to be able to murder Albus Dumbledore.

He couldn't manage to curse Dumbledore with the damned opal necklace. He couldn't manage to poison Dumbledore with the bloody tainted mead. He couldn't repair this fucking vanishing cabinet either! It appeared that the Dark Lord was to be successful in his mission to punish the Malfoy family for Lucius' incompetence.

Draco stormed out of the Room of Requirement and fled to the only room that he felt that he would not be disturbed in: Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. He slammed the door behind him as he threw himself at one of the working sinks and turned on the tap. The rushing water was soothing, but it wasn't enough. The damned tears still came.

Merlin be damned! He was going to fail the mission! He was going to fail to regain the Malfoy family its honor! He was going to fail his _family_! He would **die** at the hands of his parents' _precious _Lord.

The sobs came harder and it became more difficult to breathe as Draco scream, "Fuck!"

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><p>"Crying out in pain<br>But no one knows how to find you  
>You're lost in darkness<br>Crying out in vain  
>But no one knows how to reach you<br>You're lost in darkness again."

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><p>Little did Draco know that someone could hear his cries. The noble Harry Potter had spotted him on the Marauder's Map and came to investigate his presence in the girls' lavatory. He now stood in the doorway observing his mental collapse, wand firmly in-hand.<p>

Draco proceeded to rip off the mandatory sweater vest, its collar stifling him. He splashed his face with cool water and tried to wash away the tears when he noticed a figure in the broken mirror. He whipped around and reached for his wand as he brokenly demanded, "Who the blo-bloody hell are you?"

In response to Draco's unexpected display of emotion and his sudden movement, Potter released a defensive spell without thinking. The red light illuminated the dim washroom and ricocheted off of the mirror behind Draco.

"_Cruciatus!_" cried Draco as he dove behind a pillar. He heard Potter stop the spell with a simple shielding spell and began to weep again. _I can't even muster enough hatred for _Potter_! _

In his hesitation Potter had gotten a better angle on him and began to cast offensive spells. Draco slowly retreated into the cubicles, throwing every spell he knew at Potter, but in the end it was not enough.

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><p>"By her hair he drags her in the street<br>He's free of other's eyes there are no glances  
>She cries for help with a gun to her cheek<br>But no one comes nobody listens  
>Her blood runs red all through the street."<p>

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><p>"<em>Expelliarmus!"<em>

Draco's wand flew into Potter's outstretched palm. By the look in his eye, Draco knew that his feeble attempt at the Torture Curse had signed his death warrant. He began to scramble further back into the room until his back met the mold-covered wall. He trembled as he watched Potter stalk him with the precision and determination of a large cat.

"I don't know what you're up to, Malfoy, but I know that it ends here," Potter spoke in a deadly tone, his wand pointed square at Draco's chest.

Draco gulped and began to beg.

"Potter, y-you don't understand! I _have _to do this! My father's life depends on it!"

"Your father can _die_ for all I care. He is nothing more than a murdering Death Eater."

"My-my mother! She will surely be punished for my failure!"

Potter took another step toward him and seized him by the collar, "Malfoy, none of your pathetic excuses will save you."

Draco was sobbing now as he tried to pry Potter's hands from him, "_My _li-life de-depends on it, Potter! I _have _to do this! Do-Don't you understand? I have to sa-save my family!"

He thought he saw something flash in Potter's eyes, and then he felt a searing pain extending from his hip to his shoulder as Potter whispered deadly even, "_Sectumsempra._"

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><p>"Crying out in pain<br>But no one knows how to find you  
>You're lost in darkness<br>Crying out in vain  
>But no one knows how to reach you<br>You're lost in darkness  
>You're lost in darkness again."<p>

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><p>He was lying in a mixture of his own blood, human excrement, and cold water as Potter fled the room. Draco couldn't believe it: Saint-fucking-Potter had been the one to raise his wand to end his life, and by the feel of it, Potter had used a rather dark spell. Draco's body was wracked with sobs as he felt the life leave him in what felt like a never-ending stream.<p>

He had failed. His father would suffer in Azkaban forever. His mother would die from the loss of her husband and only child. Severus would die for his inadvertently broken promise. Dumbledore would live on. _Harry Potter would live on_.

In that moment, Draco had an epiphany: _Dumbledore would live on_.

He knew it was too much to hope that Potter would be imprisoned for his death, but he knew with every fiber in his being that Dumbledore would still be around to see to the end of Voldemort's reign of terror. His father would surely atrophy in Azkaban, but if his mother found the strength, she would be able to live on a start a new life without the fear of death hanging above her head.

Draco was feeling rather delirious as he succumbed to the darkness that was drilling holes in his vision. He died with a simple smile gracing his lips as he imagined a world where he could have lived what he believed to be a happy _normal _life.

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><p>Draco Malfoy's death was tragic and relatively hush-hush. Very few knew of the true nature of it. Even fewer understood just how vital a role it played in the ensuing events:<p>

Albus Dumbledore lived on to properly instruct Harry Potter in ways to destroy the remaining horcruxes. He also died a few short weeks after Potter and Draco's altercation from the curse on his hand.

Proceeding Dumbledore's death, Potter, Granger, and Weasley set off to destroy the horcruxes. They were successful in destroying all but two.

In the penultimate altercation, Neville Longbottom not only beheaded Nagini but Potter, as well. Longbottom was the one to have discovered Draco's pale body as he too fled his present to the deserted girls' lavatory. He had seen the damage done and learned who had killed the poor boy. He had also learned just how dark of a turn Harry Potter had taken in his internal battle against Voldemort's influence.

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><p>"I can't find my inspiration<br>I can't find my inspiration  
>I can't find my inspiration<br>I can't find my inspiration."

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><p>The injustice of Draco's death had fueled Neville Longbottom's ire and ultimately led to the Dark Lord's downfall. He destroyed the final horcrux and engaged Voldemort in a final duel in attempt to avenge those that had been killed – or worse – at his hands.<p>

In the end, Professor Trelawney's prophecy came to fruition:

"_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies ..._"

Lucius Malfoy was Kissed in Azkaban following an in-depth trial for his actions while under the rule of Tom Riddle.

Narcissa Malfoy fell into a deep depression but eventually dug her way back out. She donated countless galleons and hours to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as well as St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Hogwarts was restored to its former glory with her aid and St. Mungo's dedicated the permanent residence ward to her for her assistance in the research for the reversal of permanent spell damage caused by the numerous Dark spells used in the Second War.

Draco Malfoy was forever immortalized at Hogwarts by the institution of a student counselor to assist adolescents in their difficult journey into adulthood, the integration of the Hogwarts' Houses, and a fountain located amidst Neville Longbottom's, the newly-instated Herbology professor and Headmaster's, greenhouses.


End file.
